Almaty, Kazakhstan, June 18, 2016 – Home team Kazakhstan barged through to the Group 3 Final of the FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix with a stunning 3-2 victory (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 18-25, 15-9) against Colombia on Saturday.
Vyacheslav Shapran, coach of Kazakhstan: “We are very happy to win in front of our home crowd. It was a hard game for us; We were leading two sets and we just lost our tempo, our serve and our reception. In the fifth set, the fans pushed the team to win. I would like congratulate my team. We are a very young team with a few players not having enough experience. I would like to invite the fans to continue their support tomorrow.”
Radmila Beresneva, captain of Kazakhstan: “We are happy to win a very difficult match. We thank the audience for the support. It is our first time to reach the finals and we would like to do our best to win.”
Eduardo Guillaume, coach of Colombia: “In the first two sets, we made mistakes with our service and attack, and we paid dearly for that. We then adjusted our defence and we just served better. We placed the reception of Kazakhstan in a lot of problems. But then, they managed their situation better in crucial plays of the match. I think character is important, It’s not easy playing abroad against a local team, It's not easy to overcome two sets and continue to play. We didn’t start well. We should be able to change the plan of the game, during the game itself.”
Maria Alejandra Marin, captain of Colombia: “We are very sad to lose with this result in the game. We made so many mistakes specially in service and we did not play at our best level. We need a strong mentality to face Peru as we know how they play. We know they are undergoing a hard time too because they lost today, but it will be a good game tomorrow.”